Gundam Seed: Revolution
by VegaArchAngel
Summary: The story is written by two people, it is based around their characters, Azrael and Vega, as they fight their way through the conflicts of Gundam SEED, and GSD.
1. Chapter 1

_**John Rowe – Chapter 1**_

"**_The Beginning"_**

_SHIT!_ The sword cut through the air he has been in scant mille-seconds before,

_Damn this guy is incredible _Azrael Celest smiled to himself whilst slamming down on the thrusters _but I can be better_. His GINN soared skywards with the increased speed, pushing Azrael into his seat and allowing him precious seconds to maneuver without enemy interference. He spun the Mobile suit mid air, throwing the thruster output to zero, letting the unit hover mid air as gravity tried to send it plummeting back to the ground.

The enemy unit was an exact copy of his, a Standard "ZGMF-1017 GINN", roughly humanoid in shape the GINN is the perfect assault unit, standing 21.43 meters in height and armed with both Sword and Heavy Machine Gun it was the mainstay of the ZAFT forces. And the weapon that was to win them the war.

His opponent was rapidly approaching, spraying the air around Azrael with machine gun fire. A lock warning filled the GINN's cockpit and Azrael responded by rolling his unit to the right, slamming the stick forward and letting the suit freefall out of harms way. The enemy unit replicated his maneuver and went for another lock. Firing upwards as he fell, Azrael kicked in his burners and missed the ground by meters; he slowed his speed and touched down. The ZAFT pilot aimed and gave the Enemy a burst from his machine gun, instead of backing away Azrael drew his heavy sword and charged forward into the Enemy unit as it hit the ground, Slicing wildly he found his blow blocked by his opponent, steel met steel amid a flurry of sparks and he found himself overbalanced. His opponent seized on this and delivered a crushing punch to the side of his suit, the armor buckled and Azrael's GINN staggered backwards, its monitor filled the image of a large heavy sword swinging towards his cockpit. The expected shriek of metal never came however as the lights in the cockpit shut down, his monitor going to black and a hissing of decompression filled the air.

A circle of light opened above him and Azrael clumsily undid his straps and climbed out of the Simulator. Removing his helmet and wiping sweat from his face he leaned against the wall _I LOST!_ Dread filled him and disappointment coursed through his body like poison, _some pilot I am, maybe I'm just not cut out for the military_. He glanced intently at the simulator across the room; his opponent had just stepped out of it and removed his helmet, revealing shoulder length blond hair and startling red eyes, he had the look of a veteran even though Azrael knew he had never flown in a combat situation. The mans eyes swept the room and came to rest upon Azrael, a smile touched his lips and he strode confidently over, extending his hand towards his recent opponent "That was a good fight, you're a pilot with great skill.. The commander informed me of one who passed with marks as good as my own. Next time though, come at me as if you mean to kill your opponent. .." He glanced around "I apologize for my rudeness, my name is Vega. It is an honor to meet you, Azrael Celest." a sly grin appeared on the face of the man ahead of him... his eyes were sinister, almost inhuman "I hope we fly together again sometime…"

_Hours Later…_

Azrael and the other pilots stared in awe at the ship before them. The ship before them gleamed in the hanger lights. it was a remarkable design, with a large jutting out nose which held the ships main cannons, intruding into the ship was the hanger bays, which opened to allow a linear catapult to jut forward and release it's deadly completment of mobile suits. Matching mishaped wings protected the launcher and provided living quarters for the crew. The bridge was situated over the top of the hanger, providing a unobstructed view. They had, after six months of hard training qualified as ZAFT mobile suit pilots and the sleek cruiser before him was to carry all the Green pilots to the frontline, to take the fight back to those natural bastards. "She's a fine looking bitch ain't she lads!" A large aging man strode forth, his bright green service uniform was dulled by age and stained with grease and oil... Anyone with half a mind could tell he was part of the ships maintenance crew. The man glanced down at the curious pilots and shrugged "I'm Cristo Rovar, Head of Maintenance and the one that's gonna keep you flyboys fit and able to fly, that there is the _Reprisal_, A Nazca class cruiser and she's gonna take you right into the action"


	2. Chapter 2

_**Ben Fitzpatrick – Chapter 2**_

"_**Partners"**_

The staff assigned to the new ship were made to wait outside for some time, registration and sign-in's were done individually by a member of the ZAFT administration crew, and due to the time it took for each person to be written into the staff database a large queue began to form at the entrance to the gigantic ship. Abandoning his luggage for a while, Vega sat himself on a pile of old metal boxes on the second level of the ship loading bay, with a lit cigarette in his mouth, and an old metal pendant in his hand, he simply killed the time by staring at his feet. A man neatly dressed in a white ZAFT military uniform approached Vega; His hair was jet black, and went down to the center of his back, his emotionless face wore crimson eyes similar to Vega's, everything about this officer commanded fear and respect. "Vega De'Storrania! Smoking in the cargo bay is strictly prohibited!" Vega signed somewhat, his gaze stayed to the ground "Yes sir.." he said half-heartedly, and lifting his left foot, he put the cigarette out on the sole of his boot. "What are you doing up here anyway, soldier? Get back in line immediately!" Vega sighed, standing up slowly and casually re-adjusting his uniform, he lifted his head to look the officer in the eyes; "Sorry to have troubled you, Captain Zandarr Sebastian..." and wandering past the officer, Vega's shoulder brushed up against Sebastian's, red clashing with white for that swift moment, before casually passing him by and returning to his luggage.

Two hours passed since then, hauling his luggage through the hall, Vega kept his room number memorised, inspecting the iron plaques next to each doorway he passed, as he continued down the corridor. "203, 204, 205... Here we are." The plaque read "206", inserting his I.D. Card into the control panel next to the plaque, the doors shifted open. The lights in the room were already on, to his right and left were two beds, it seemed as if they were crafted into the walls, as they extended in some ways. At the end of the beds there were wardrobes, each to fit the personal belongings of the staff sleeping there, a door was off to his far left, leading to the bathing quarters, which had the bare essentials, a sink, toilet, and shower; A desk was positioned on the opposite side of the room at the center, several documents were neatly placed ontop. Within the quarters, another man was already loading his posessions into the wardrobe, the young man looked over his shoulder towards Vega, his eyes glimmered with silver hues, and his platinum hair was spiked up, stands sticking around in an incoherent pattern, and his uniform wore the same color as Vega's, red.. the sign of a skilled pilot; He stood just shorter than his new roommate. "Umm... Vega.. De'Storrania?" the man said softly, "I will be your room mate on this ship.. we've met before", "Yeah, Azrael, I think.. Well at least they didn't give me someone boring." a grin etched his face once again, as he made way towards his own Wardrobe, threw the smaller bag in lazily, and left the larger bag at the end of his bed. "Umm.." Azrael began; "One of the officers came by earlier.. the ships briefings are on the desk.." "Huh? Thanks" Vega replied. Not needing to tend to his luggage for now, he walked over towards the desk, and picked up the documents with his name written on them.

Going over the contents carefully for a few minutes, he generally summed it up to his partner standing in the room; "It seems, we are to join up with one of ZAFT's fleets to pursue the 'Legged Ship'.. we're also meant to capture this mobile suit called "Strike", said to be highly dangerous and should not be approached alone.." Vega shifted on his feet for a moment, he feeled a bit uneasy; "What the fuck is this bullshit? There's no way one of those bastard naturals can be better than a coordinator pilot! Doesn't matter if he's got a better suit!" and throwing the documents onto the table, the contents scattering about the desktop, Vega stormed out of the room, his eyes glaring angrily ahead.


	3. Chapter 3

_**Ben Fitzpatrick – Chapter 3**_

"**_Red Alert! Into the flames"_**

A week in space had passed since that moment, Vega had calmed down considerably, and often he was seen sitting by himself, not participating in any activities that staff members regularly took part in to pass the dead hours. Azrael on the other hand got to know most of the staff on board, he was praised as being a genius pilot, although he had never been in real action, he had already earned his red uniform, a position of power..

That day in particular held a dangerous task for the pilots of the Reprisal, Vega and Azrael had been tasked with checking the ships security system for any bugs or mistakes, working on one of the control panels that had been one of the cause for problems the last week, the calm silence was soon interrupted by a loud siren, all lights dimming, and the red alert lighting switched on in full effect.

"All hands, first level battle stations, repeat all hands, first level battle stations". The radio complemented the announcement with a heavy blanket of static, the battleship shook for a moment, and the terrified screams of both man and woman alike rang out throughout the hall.

"_They've come it seems... this chorus of despair, it is a tune those bastards like to play often_." His mind was a blank haze; each vibration sent throughout the ship brought him closer and closer to breaking point. Gazing at the man across from him, Vega spoke once again; "Azrael... Let's give these bastards hell, I'll show them the pain that they've inflicted upon me!" He reached down a grabbed Azrael's hand, pulling the pilot out of his daydream, straightening his uniform casually, he turned to his flank, and darted towards the mobile suit deck, weaving skillfully through the maze of corridors that the ship presented to him, he soon found himself in the ready room, Azrael followed closely behind. The hall was littered with nervous pilots, each struggling with one thing or another, Vega carefully noted the I.D. Number printed onto one man's uniform, the one throwing up into the rubbish bin placed in the corner by the shower block, he also noted one other, the calmest one in the room besides himself, "_Magnus Highwind_" was imprinted onto the man's helmet, his visor was clearly opened, and he seemed fully prepared.. one thing that held him back though was located on the opposite side of the room, several female pilots were also changing into their pilot uniforms., so naturally you'd have one or two people enlisting to 'reap the benefits'.

"Pathetic..." Vega said to himself, as he quickly changed into his pilot suit, "As long as I stay away from those two during this I should be able to survive". He only glanced over his shoulder once to inspect Azrael, it seemed the man was in deep concentration, preparing himself mentally for the fight ahead, "…Azrael, don't think too deeply about the coming battle, the more you think, the wilder your imagination soars…Just stay focused and we will have our share of Naturals today!". Pulling on his helmet the pilot kicked himself out into the hallway, letting his momentum carry him forwards at the lack of gravity. Azrael nodded and pulled on his own helmet with shaking hands before following.

It was only a short slot of time, but it seemed the process took forever... Vega started to get impatient; his revenge was the primary engine that drove his body at this stage. "All GINN units Prepare for takeoff!" the female voice announced over the intercom "Launch by pairs!" Vega's instant reply to this was "ZGMF-1017 GINN, Vega... Launching!", The Linear catapult spread out before him and magnetic forces seized his GINN, the ready light flashed green and he was propelled forward at fantastic speeds, Vega was caught by surprise and winced for a moment, everything ahead of the launch bay was a crimson tinted darkness. Taking a moment in his mind to re-evaluate the controls placed ahead of him, he adjusted his arms accordingly, there was no doubt about it, even though this was the first time the pilot had ever been in serious combat, he was ready. Recovering from the initial shock that the takeoff had caused, his face wore a malicious grin; he formed up with the rest of the _Reprisal's_ GINN squadron and glared intently at the huge array of enemy ships before him.


	4. Chapter 4

_**John Rowe – Chapter 4**_

"**_Contact"_**

"ZGMF-1017 GINN, Azrael…. Launch!". The Linear catapult activated and sent Azrael hurtling into space, after a moment's surprise he wrenched his suit back into control, stopping to survey the area for a moment before darting over to the rest of the squadron. His communication module snapped on and his monitor filled with the image of one of the _Reprisal's_ bridge crew,

"It appears that our target the 'Legged Ship' is attempting to break through to earth, our orders are clear and this cannot be allowed. The cowardly naturals are hiding amongst the Earth Alliances 8th Armada, who will be acting as a screen whilst our target escapes. The _Reprisal_ will be engaging with a united ZAFT force, its GINN's will be under the command of 'Major Magnus Highwind'. Follow his lead and may god speed you in the coming battle, For ZAFT!"

The cry went up amidst the ZAFT forces and the warships engaged their engines, Squadron upon squadron of GINN's shot to the front of the formation, weapons held in readiness…ready to die for PLANT and its inhabitants. "8th ARMARDA IN RANGE!",

Captain Zandarr Sebastian narrowed his eyes, "Aim the particle cannons, target the closest enemy and prepare for anti-beam and anti-mobile armor battle." The crew snapped into action and the image of a Support cruiser was highlighted on his display, In the distance he could see the fabled 'Legged Ship' falling into the Earth formation. "PARTICLE BEAMS….FIRE!" Twin emerald darts soared forth from the _Reprisal_, Impaling the Natural cruiser just behind the bridge, crimson flames exploded from the huge holes in it's flanks and charred bodies of maintenance crews were sucked into deep space, the explosion continued to spread and the whole ship was consumed in fire as the beams pierced it's engines. The Captain missed all of this, his attention already on the next target…he chuckled to himself, there were more then enough for the ZAFT forces this day.

Mobile armor spilled forth from the Earth formation like a tidal wave, _hundreds of units, each containing a pilot who wants nothing more then to kill me_. Azrael beat down the sense of panic threatening to overwhelm him and let his training take over, A image of Magnus Highwind appeared above him "_Reprisal's_ GINN's, we are now designated Gray Squadron, form up on me and create a screen for _Reprisal_, Deflect the first wave then we will go hunting amongst those wallowing beasts the humans call Battleships!". A series of affirmatives followed and Azrael took a deep breath, releasing it he signaled his readiness. Within moments the first of the Mobile Armor was upon them, Azrael sent his GINN corkscrewing into the enemy formation, blazing away with his machine gun at the same time, he confirmed at least one kill and smiled briefly before looping and drawing his sword, the space around him was filled with metal and fire, screams and oaths filled his com. Instincts took over and he dodged back as a laser sliced through the space before him, the armor roared past in it's wake and he managed to snatch it out of it's path before driving his sword home into the fighters belly. Swinging the GINN's sword Azrael flung the gutted fighter into the path of another, causing an explosion as their missiles collided.

"DIE YOU NATURAL BASTARDS!" Glancing at the unfolding battle Azrael noted Vega's GINN in the most furious part of the conflict, Mobile armor wreckage thick in the space around him "WHY DO YOU INSIST ON LIVING!", his sword struck out and another earth alliance pilot cried out for his mother or sweetheart. Again and again Vega struck and more pilots joined the first, Azrael kicked in his boosters and hurled towards his friends location, letting loose a steady stream of machine gun fire at any opponents who presented themselves, he watched in deadly silence as Vega's voice took on a near-fanatical tone, his GINN taking more and more damage as striking out less as it was overwhelmed. _Just a little longer_ Azrael leant forward in his pilot's seat, rocking back and forth as if to somehow draw more speed out of the mobile suit from sheer willpower. "Get out of my way!" he slashed outwards with his sword, catching a fighter with its blade and separating it cleanly in half.

He roared in on Vega's unit, delivering a crushing kick to the cockpit of an attacking mobile armor, glass shattered and a broken helmet drifted past his view as he spun let loose with Machine Gun fire, his GINN coming to rest behind Vega's facing in the opposite direction, both of them firing wildly at the mobile armor surrounding them, explosions tore space and wreckage crashed against Azrael's GINN, causing his system to stutter and sparks to erupt from his monitor, abandoning his overheated machine gun Azrael let forth with a staggering punch at the next strafing fighter, crushing the nose of the armor back into it's engines, the resulting explosion pushed him back and blinded him for a few seconds. When he regained his vision he saw a lack of Mobile armor in the space around him, his com let loose more sparks before an image of a much sweatier Magnus Highwind appeared. "That's the first wave gone, let's leave the mop up to the other squadrons…Gray Squadron, form on me and attack the 8th Armada's main fleet!...FOR PLANT AND FOR ZAFT!"

The _Reprisal's _GINN's rocketed forward, some showing damage. The Earth fleet loomed up on them and a solid wall of machine gun and beam fire enveloped the squadron as they dove into it's midst. Azrael face was a mask of concentration as he picked his way through the tangle of lasers and metal, his eyes firmly latched upon his target, this was a 130 meter Earth Alliance cruiser, the 75mm Vulcan cannons that were placed at various intervals along it's hull swiveled and targeted the ZAFT pilot but could not depress fast enough to keep up with the much swifter mobile suit. Reaching for his sword Azrael spun and boosted down towards the ship, connecting hard with the top of the cruiser only meters away from the ships command deck….he could clearly see the shock and surprise on the captains face as he plunged the huge sword through the bridge, triggering a explosion just as he leapt free, letting the explosion propel him towards his next target.

Captain Zandarr Sebastian once again shouted out a call to fire, "DO NOT LET THAT SHIP ESCAPE", he checked his tactical readout and nearly swore…though the ZAFT forces were winning it was coming at a great cost. One of the bridge crew, drenched in sweat spoke aloud "Enemy cruiser has targeting lock on us sir" the captain glanced up and saw that two EAF cruisers had broken away from the main formation, angling in towards the _Reprisal_, "You will not have my ship you bastards!...FIRE ANTI-BEAM MISSLES, EVADE, Depress nose 20 Degrees" the crewman shouted out in panic "ENEMY CRUISERS, FIRING", The small anti-beam missiles swarmed from the sides of the Nazca class cruiser, exploding in multiple spheres around it, successfully absorbing most of the blast. An evil grin spread across the captain's face as the ship cruised under the blast and into clear view of the EAF Ships. "Target Cruiser 1...Fire Hell Blazers 1-60!", torpedo's churned out of the ships launchers…colliding with the EAF cruiser before it had a chance to react, the resulting explosion tore the small warship asunder, spilling crew into space before finally consuming itself, the Captain regarded the other ship "Target Cruiser 2!...Aim the Armageddon!" The _Reprisal's_ massive particle cannon slid into position and locked, energy buildup momentarily blinded the crew as they prepared to fire the massive weapon…"FIRE!"…pure energy spilled forth from the ZAFT ship, crackles of lightning accompanying the white lance of light as it impaled the Earth cruiser it was aimed at…bodies swelled and exploded under the force of the blast and the whole ship seemed to crumple in on itself like so many pieces of trash paper.

Captain Zandarr Sebastian let out the breath he had been holding and turned to the tactical display in front of him "It seems the back of the 8th armada has been broken…the few remaining units are arrayed before the 'Legged Ship' in a pitiful attempt to delay us further, Set engine power to full and recall all GINN's once we reach 2000 Alpha Yellow…We shall taste the sweet taste of victory this day, and that dammed 'Legged Ship will feel our guns someday…for now she is out of our reach."

_**Ben Fitzpatrick – Chapter 4**_

"**_Contact"_**

Vega laughed out in a maddened frenzy; "Eat shit you fucking scum!" His right hand was grasped firmly onto the joystick controller, and his left was constantly hitting keys upon the mechanics in front of him.. a slight trickle of blood seeped down the control stick, his trigger finger under a lot of strain under Vega's now berserker state. His GINN skillfully weaved it's way through the gunfire that was adamant on taking his life, strafing to the right he quickly fired several miniature rockets from his leg units, hitting one of the enemy ship's engine section, the goliath in front of him was soon invoked in flames, shattering debris into the mobile armor's surrounding it.

Off in the distance he spotted it; "That's it!" he said to himself in amazement as he gazed at the 'legged ship', it's hydrokinetics starting to kick in, he knew that their time was almost over. Dashing towards the ship, two other suits also made their presence.. "... Gundam!" Vega spoke out in amazement, he slowed down his pace as he approached the two, one unit was painted sky blue, it was the Duel gundam that he had heard stories about, and the other... the Strike. A face soon appeared on Vega's monitor, it was that of a blue haired young man, with bandages over his right eye. "Stay the hell away! This is my fight! THAT'S AN ORDER!" he shouted over and over, not allowing Vega time to reply, his monitor soon became blank once again. Pausing, he let go of the controls of his GINN, the conflict in front of him playing out as if a ancient masterpiece had came to him.. he wanted to fight, but witnessing the skill of the pilots, and the power of the Gundam's which complemented these two men... he felt drained of his will. Their battle raged on and on, They came so close to each other, that without warning, the Strike kicked Duel's cockpit area, forcing him back, and down towards Earth's atmosphere... Duel's rifle was then thrusted forward to aim for Strike... when all of a sudden an earth civilian ship obstructed their view... passing through unscathed, Duel began firing onto Strike, missing horribly however, the Duel then aimed his rife at the civ ship, one pull of the trigger, and the naturals were destroyed... A malicious grin appeared on Vega's face as he watched the travesty unfold.. he laughed, and continued to do so until the Gundam's and the 'legged ship' faded into the planet. "Vega De'Storrania, you are to return to the Reprisal immediately!" was the only thing he could remember hearing, his pupils wore a dull maroon, and breathing heavily, he spun the GINN around and headed back for the Reprisal.


	5. Chapter 5

_**John Rowe – Chapter 5**_

"**_Aftermath"_**

Azrael Celest hit the restraint release and let out a sigh as he pushed himself out of his GINN's cockpit, he floated out into a riot of noise and sparks as the tech's hurried to get the ship's mobile suits back into working condition, no one was sure when the next battle would be and they wanted to be prepared, he spun mid-air and floated there, looking sorrowfully at the damage his mobile suit had sustained. He spun as a shout went up among the hanger crew and a warning claxon resounded throughout the ship "Attention, all crew in the hanger take cover, prepare for a crash landing…deploy crash netting and have fire crews of standby". The reaction was immediate and men and women dived for cover as a heavily damaged GINN burst into the hanger, all attempts at control lost as the unit slowly stopped responding…the crashed netting caught the GINN and seemed to hold it before snapping and letting the suit stumble and slide to a grinding halt along the back wall, Fire crews reacted immediately, pushing themselves forward and dousing any flames with a thick white substance, were the units armaments to go off in this hanger would mean the destruction of the entire ship!

Azrael pushed himself off a wall and let his momentum carry him over to the damaged GINN…it was heavily damaged with a gaping hole in it's stabilizers and most of it's original paint burned off by explosions and near misses. Medical crew snapped open the units cockpit and pulled a pilot from the wreckage…Azrael swore and pushed past onlookers as they removed Vega's shattered helmet…blood ran freely from his forehead yet there was a twisted smile on his face and he turned his head to face Azrael, in a weak voice he spoke "Those fuckers, they had nothing on me... We killed them, as much as we could.. Azrael.. lets kill again.." He let out a bitter laugh before slipping into unconsciousness. One of the medical crew examined the battered ZAFT elite…"It's not as bad as it looks sir…maybe a mild concussion and a fractured arm, give him a week and he should be right….at least….physically" Azrael glared at the orderly as he bit off the last few words "Just take him to the medical bay, make him comfortable and I will go and report to the captain…..look after him.." With that Azrael turned and pushed himself off, letting his momentum carry him into the hallway."


	6. Chapter 6

_**Chapter 6 – John Rowe**_

"**_Darkness Surrounds"_**

_Darkness surrounds...always there...always waiting, Memories are there to remind you of us...of what they did to us...we will never cease to be. _ Azrael woke with a start, a cold sweat covering his body...he clenched his fists and spasms rocked his body for a moment, his hand flailed out for the box of pills next to his bed, knocking over a lamp and throwing the room into darkness. His hand finally met the box and he pulled his prize too him, shaking three blood red pills out of the container and slamming them into his mouth. The pills took effect and he immediately calmed down. His spasms reduced to a slight shaking and his fists uncurled...bloodied marks left on his palms from his nails.

He had been careless to not take his dosage but the excitement of the battle had left him drained...he had collapsed into his bunk without a second thought and now he was paying for it, he slowly stood and retrieved a towel from where it lay crumpled on the floor and used it to staunch the flow of blood coming from his hands. _I was careless and I will not allow this to happen again...if Vega had been here, he would have known...no one can know._ Azrael knew he should sleep, he needed rest for no one knew when the next fight was coming but the images kept coming to him...floating up from somewhere within his brain and tormenting him, he could never forget...never. He had only been 10 when he had been diagnosed with a rare form of cancer; it seemed that it was a new strain, a mutated and stronger version, much the same as Coordinators were to Humans...he would not live to see another year. His father was a politician and had much influence... a new radical form of therapy was offered as a last resort. It was new and untested but research promised perfect results. Azrael was carried away from his family, his friends and his old life and brought to a secret facility somewhere, there were many children of all ages, each of them suffering and soon that suffering was to be greater.

The "Cure" was in fact...true, and constant surgery over the months kept him alive, if he could of he would have let the cancer take him, to die would have been bliss...the facility in question was of military nature and the children that were brought there were subjected to new, untested experiments to create the perfect soldiers...a sort of Ultimate Coordinator...the experiments involved more than gene manipulation before birth...a constant influx of pills and injections was forced upon them. Azrael watched with horror as those he knew turned mindless at the schedule they were forced into, their eyes staring back at him with only pain and suffering in their memories...he knew he had been the same...he had barely survived.

It was at this facility that they had been trained in all forms of warfare, by the age of eleven he could dismantle and reassemble a rifle in ten seconds, he learnt

Astronavigation and his reflexes were increased to near perfect by pills they were forced to swallow. Azrael believed that his parents had been told he had died during surgery, why else would they allow him to be here...to live in this false world of injections and discipline, where a child died a day...their tiny bodies rejecting the drug therapy and seizures resulted. And then there was Kai...Kai had been the 'leader' of the group, he was 16 when Azrael had first arrived and was the one showing the most proficiency in all the tests, the scientists looked at him with pride as he reeled off ZAFT military history, planned and initiated simulated attacks on Earth and lifted triple his body weight with ease. Kai had been their perfect student...and he had been perhaps Azrael's only friend...the only thing that had kept him sane through the years of hard and constant pain.

But then...everything changed, Azrael was 15 at the time and the atmosphere of the facility changed...the talk of their guards and scientists became flushed and worried, the general panic increasing over the days. As it was ZAFT forces had discovered what had been happening and were horrified, a taskforce was sent to destroy the base and its creations...to destroy the children they had sent there themselves. The facility became frenzied, scientists destroyed tubes and computers, loading up notes and journals and preparing to escape. They believed firmly that what they were doing was right...the war did not bother them, they did what they did in the name of research...in the name of science...they had tried to create the Ultimate Coordinators, the Ultimate Life form in this universe! It was with these sentiments that they all left...leaving their experiments behind, to start anew...to create life else where...where they would be appreciated. As it turns out they fled to Earth where they were welcomed with open arms, they began working on new creatures, new opportunities to play god, they called this new experiment..._Organic...CPU's_.

There were perhaps 20 or more children left in the facility when the ZAFT forces arrived...Azrael and the others knew they had been left to die; only Kai had been taken. When the ZAFT forces arrived they found only a group of unstable and weak children. They were fed and taken back to PLANT...put in orphanages and allowed time to recuperate. The families that took these children in were horrified at their mentals states, they were not able to fit in with normal society and a few committed suicide to forget what had happened forever...Others, like Azrael joined the military and did what they could to get by, ZAFT forces provided him and the others with pill supplements to keep their bodies going after so much abuse. The military was the only place they could really survive, they all tried to forget...they repressed the training they had and tried to forget...but they would never succeed...they would always remember...

Azrael was snapped out of his reflection by a loud shuffle outside, jumping to his feet he hit the door release button and stepped back as it slid open noiselessly, depositing a surprised looking female pilot at his feet. She had been leaning against the door, trying to see through the cracks when it was opened and she slowly stood, her cheeks shining scarlet...she was beautiful, collar length black hair with highlights of platinum streaked through it lay curled around her neck, pale skin highlighting her large green eyes which were now directed at him, Azrael felt himself go red at the attention and tried in vain to speak "uhhh...I mean...uh...hi" The girl seemed to bristle at this and spun and walked away quickly shouting over her shoulder "Never mind then!". Azrael stared dumbly after her retreating figure before turning to enter his room again...he glanced into the dark empty room again and could almost feel the oppressive nature of his thoughts waiting to assault him, making up his mind he decided to go and see Vega in the medical ward, from what he knew of his roommate he knew Vega slept little.


	7. Chapter 7

_**Chapter 7 – Ben Fitzpatrick**_

"**_Warchild"_**

"What do you mean I won't be able to fly for 2 weeks?" Vega interrupted loudly, the female technician that stood above his bed twitched irately; "Your suit is severely damaged, we ca-" "**I don't care! Fix it!**", the man interrupted again. Sighing loudly, she hung her head calmly, brown locks cascading over her brow, and closing her eyes for a moment, she snapped out of the false serenity, yelling loudly over Vega's tantrums. "**It is beyond repair you spoilt little shit! Don't you get it? We're waiting for your new suit to be shipped, god!"** with that she threw the file that she was meant to bring to Vega onto the floor, and stormed off towards the door, the tech crew employee didn't notice as the door opened before her, Azrael stood on the outside of the frame, and on that instant, she collided roughly with him, his strength overpowering hers however, she lost her balance, only to be caught by a red sleeved arm. Allowing her to stand for a moment, he let go, she bowed graciously and left in a hurry, her cheeks a slight tint of pink as she ran out.

"Hmph!" Vega grunted, he sat up in his bed, his arm caught in a sling, and a wound down his forehead, crossing through his right eye was held together by a few stitches. Azrael walked to the center of the room first, picking up the thrown folder and it's contents, he inspected one of the pages that had flown away from the rest, his initial reaction was awe, followed by a hint of jealousy; "T-.. This is...? No way..", he remained on the floor for a moment, glaring at the sheet of paper. Sighing briefly, he returned the document to it's folder, and stood up, passing the folder to Vega; "Here, your new unit.. aren't you lucky.." The folder was a simple beige, inside however Vega pulled out the cover sheet, mumbling incoherant curse words, obviously irritated by the events before hand. His muttering stopped suddenly however, his eyes widened and a sly grin appeared on his face.. "For this.. I can wait.." he spoke to himself, the cover sheet read; "YFX-200 CGUE DEEP Arms" The image of a dark blue mobile suit was accompanying the text, shoulder mounted thermal cannons, and a long energy sword a the waist were the main eye catching features, the mobile suit was beautiful though, Vega sat there for moments, eyes kept on the page, grinning widely.

Azrael stood silent for some time, before pulling up a chair from the desk located on the other side of the room. "I have a feeling you'll be in these med rooms more than in your normal room over the coming months." Azrael began, "What happened out there, Vega?" Concern in his eyes, Azrael looked towards Vega, "Huhhh? What happened where? I just ran into a little misfortu-" "Your comlink wasn't disabled the total time, our superiors also took up liberty to play me the tape of the cockpit activity..." Vega sighed, looking down towards his feet, he threw himself back, his head colliding with the pillow. "It's plain and simple, I hate them... I won't die until I rid the world of every last one of those fithy naturals..." glaring up at the ceiling, he continued; "Junius seven... my parents were the operators of one of the space ports there... well, rumour got through of an attack you see? Well being the cautious types they were, I was sent to live with my Grandfather in PLANT for a few weeks.. well, lets just say those 'few weeks' became years." he grasped his fist, growling in a controlled rage. "I was 12 years old, I had everything I needed for a nice comfortable life, but those naturals saw fit to take my home, friends, and family away. Oh where does the time go.." laughing now, he seemed more sinister than light-hearted.. "Grandfather educated me in warfare.. I begged him, he used to be an old pilot when PLANT first came about.. Through all the blood, sweat.. and tears; I'm now here today, I seem to get a bit reckless when I'm given these oppertunities for revenge though. Our superiors are going to put that trait to good use with this" he tapped the documents twice, "It's like this thing was made for me, I'm not sure about being a beta tester though..."Azrael yawned somewhat, not out of boredom, more like fatigue; "Well, you've told me an interesting story... Get some rest now, I'll come see how you are tomorrow." Vega smiled half-heartedly, laughing slightly he spoke "I don't know why you're being so nice to me, I'll tell you this though, through my actions, and the way that ZAFT wishes to use my abilities, I might not be alive to see the year end." he sighed slightly, the smile on his face never fading though. "Well, if someone of your ability dies on the battlefield, I highly doubt my chances too, partner." Azrael stood up and left the room. Brooding for a moment, Vega repeated the line in his head, voicing out the final word; "Partner... huh?"


	8. Chapter 8

**_Chapter 8 – Ben Fitzpatrick_**

"**_Tranquility"_**

The next day their orders came in, Captain Sebastian announced to the crew early that morning; "Attention Reprisal crew members, and pilots. We will now be making course for PLANT, we should arrive in 13 hours, further instructions will be given before we land, you are all to go about your daily duties as per usual.. that is all." Moving out of his bedding, Azrael slowly moved to the bathroom, cleaning himself appropriately, and taking a quick morning shower, he then changed into his red ZAFT uniform. There was another item he took out from the room before leaving; a long bamboo training sword, It would've simply been a stick had it not been for the hand protector on the hilt of the weapon. Holding the sword at mid length, he left the room, moving through the corridors towards the upper deck of the ship. He soon found himself in a large open room, it resembled a gymnasium, basketball hoops on either end of the grey metallic walls, and a simple floor pattern, of a rectangle with a circle in the middle. Along the walls, there were windows on either side, you could not look into them from the outside though, the were obviously linked to some form of changing rooms. Azrael inspected the room some more, even though there was no one there, he could sense activity close by, he assumed however that it wasn't hostile, so he shrugged it off, and began his training. Moving to the center of the room, he closed his eyes, and took up a basic combat stance. His platinum strands gently swayed from side to side, as he held the wooden sword directly infront of him. Opening his eyes suddenly, he gripped hard onto the hilt of the weapon and made his attack, bringing his arms back, he then thrusted them forward, the weapon moving with skill and precision, he then stepped back swiftly, then forward again, slashing downwards, he repeated his motion for some time, each attack made a swooping noise that resonated around the hall. His concentration shifted for a moment, he took note of three others who had entered the hall, it seemed to him that they had been standing there for some time now. Azrael turned around for a moment to face them, two females and a male stood there, He was able to recognise the women quite easily, the two that he encountered the other evening. One was dressed in a red military uniform like his own, she had short, messy black hair, and green eyes. The other had brown hair and hazel eyes, and wore a bright green technician uniform, the male had tanned skin, and short, shaven blonde hair, he wore the military greens, They all stood around the same height, the same with Azrael. Azrael paused for a moment and kept his eyes on the group of people, an awkward silence took place for a moment, before Azrael began to speak; "Would you like me to move somewhere else..?" Instantly the black haired woman replied, a shade of pink setting into her cheeks; "No, don't worry, don't mind us, we'll leave you to it." "You don't have to, really, don't mind me." Azrael replied. Pausing for a moment in thought, the woman spoke up; "Well.. we were just about to get breakfast anyway.. you, uhh.. want to join us?" "... Sure.", lowering his stance, he grabbed the weapon but it's center again, and approached the group, smiling cheerfully, he spoke; "My name is--" the woman interrupted, as if it was almost a reflex; "Azrael Celest... we all know about you, you graduated on a score of 96, and were instantly assigned your reds... oops! I'm sorry.. I didn't mean to interrupt you." apologizing she took a step back, and looked towards the ground next her. The man next to the two women introduced himself; "I'm Nero Xander." gesturing to the woman furthest from him, the tech crew female, he said "This is Analise Rhyhawk." the woman nodded shyly, her face a crimson fluster. Then gesturing over to the woman next to him, Nero spoke; "And this is Raven Imani." she spoke; "It's an honor to meet you." Azrael bowed down graciously; "The honor is all mine." Nero then interrupted; "Well, that's the introductions done, lets get something to eat." and turning towards the door, he let himself out of the room first, followed by Analise and Raven, then by Azrael, his mind set on Vega for a brief moment; "I wonder if he's had the chance to fit in too..?" he thought, before exiting the room, and moving to the mess hall with his companions.

The day went on as normal, Azrael spent time with Raven, Analise and Nero, they talked in one of the recreation rooms, Vega on the other hand had found his way out of the medical room, and sat in one of the designated smoking chambers, finishing off a packet, the documents for his new mobile suit resting in his lap.

_To Be Continued..._


End file.
